Censorship throughout time has been precisely depicted in "Fahrenheit 451," by Ray Bradbury. The actions of the book arsons done by the firemen took away any way to gain knowledge, information and the right to think for yourself has been shown as an everlasting cycle inside the book. Examples of such restriction include banning, and the disposing of offending literature, and in some cases, violence, or the possibility of persecution to the authors of the violated pieces. In Fahrenheit 451, censorship consist of book arsons, unscrupulous parlor families, and the narrow-mindedness of those who try to be individuals. .
In Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451 censorship is something the characters deal with on a daily basis and, do not even think twice about it. When Guy Montag meets Clarisse McClellan, who is an attractive, young, free spirited seventeen year-old girl, who likes to walk and explores for fun, this confuses Montag because it is against the social norm. Once they talk and get to know one another, Clarisse open Montags eyes and mind to what actually happens around him.
In the book, the characters are so out of touch with society, and life they did not know that their everyday lives were being censored. The temperature 451 degrees Fahrenheit for Bradbury, is the temperature at which books burn, but other authors interpreted as the temperature at which freedom burns (Smolla), just like their books, their freedom, knowledge and, open mindedness were being burned right before their eyes. Although many of the citizens in Fahrenheit 451 are overwhelmed with censorship there are only few that in this society that think for themselves. When Montags finally examined the tedious desire seeking, his wife was so swathed up in her life to think twice. It is thus telling us that the extreme regime of censorship depicted in Fahrenheit 451 does not come from the top, but from the bottom. The people instigate it.
